Views from pit lane
Veteran ESPN/ABC IndyCar Series reporter Jack Arute
checks in weekly with his "Views from pit lane."
indycar.com - Tuesday, April 29, 2008

"Too many years wearing suits, carrying a briefcase and riding elevators." That's Marty Roth's description of his "previous" life. Those days are long gone for the 49-year-old Toronto native.

Roth has been around since the Indy Racing League was started. But this is the first year that he has been a regular on the campaign trail. A graduate of the Indy Pro Series, Marty could easily have become simply a field filler. Instead, h has put together a team that has made him a better driver.

How?

He tapped 2006 Indy Pro Series champion Jay Howard as his teammate. The 27-year- old IndyCar Series rookie has provided Roth with a valuable driving asset. Someone to push him. Someone to compare himself to. Despite their age difference, they have limited experience in IndyCars. Roth certainly has more but it has been limited to two or three races yearly.

But Howard's presence is not the only reason why Marty's star is on the rise. The addition of David Cripps as team engineer has produced positive results. Roth's efforts are solid this season. His hard work showed at Kansas when he qualified seventh for this past weekend's race.

Expectations were high going into the race.

"We found something with the car," Marty told me just before his qualifying run. "At half tanks in practice the car was great but when we filled the tank full, the car went to junk. We fixed that and I'm ready."

When you look into Roth's eyes, you see a building confidence. Previously, I thought Marty sometimes questioned whether or not at his age that he belonged out with some of the IndyCar Series kids. Not any more.

That's why I hope that the pit miscue and his collision with Tomas Scheckter on pit road April 27 doesn't diminish that confidence. Marty made a "rookie mistake." He turned into his pit stall too early and hit Scheckter's right-front tire man, Simon Morely.

If you saw the accident or if you only read the race box score, you might think that Marty Roth is the same Marty Roth that has been on the fringes of IndyCar for the past few years. You would be terribly mistaken.

Sure. He has a very long way to go before he is taken seriously as a challenger for a win. Right now, a top-10 finish would be nice. But don't dismiss Marty Roth. He has a passion for the sport. A burning desire to succeed. The same way he did back when he was decked out with a suit a briefcase and rode too many elevators.

I'm pulling for you Marty Roth.

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